Best Low Carb Bread Options in the UK

The keto diet is a high-fat, moderate protein and low carbohydrate diet. In practice, this means eliminating almost all starchy carbohydrates, including bread.

Bread is usually made from wheat flour and combined with yeast to allow the bread to rise, when baked in the oven. Unfortunately, wheat flour is high in carbohydrates and is therefore not generally classified as a keto-friendly or low carb food.

But can you eat bread on a keto diet?

Let’s start by outlining the purpose of the keto diet. The keto diet aims to promote ketogenesis (production of ketone bodies) and allow the body to reach a state of ketosis (higher level of circulating ketone bodies). By entering ketosis, the body preferentially metabolises ketones for energy, which is associated with weight loss and other health benefits.

So, how do you reach ketosis?

There are 2 primary ways to reach metabolic ketosis, which in include fasting and carbohydrate restriction (we will focus on carbohydrate restriction). Carbohydrates are generally the body’s preferred energy source and will be utilised when glucose levels are high.

When carbs are restricted however, the body switches to ketone bodies for that energy. In practice, carbohydrate restriction usually means limiting yourself to between 20-50g of carbs per day. If you’re not strictly following a keto diet, but prefer to limit your overall carb intake, slightly higher levels of carbs can be consumed.

So, now that we know we need to limit carbs to between 20-50g per day, how does regular bread fit into the equation?

Bread generally has between 15-20g of carbohydrates per slice. This means you would consume your entire daily carbohydrate allowance from a single slice of bread. Not exactly keto-friendly. As a result, regular bread cannot generally be consumed on the keto diet.